Lady Anne Berry
Encyclopedia
Lady Anne Sophia Berry is an English
and New Zealand
horticulturist
who founded Rosemoor Garden
. She offered the garden to the Royal Horticultural Society
in 1988. In 1990 she married Bob Berry
and went to live on his farm at Tiniroto
, Gisborne
, New Zealand
. She then created the Homestead Garden of Hackfalls Arboretum
.
Her father was Robert Horace Walpole, the fifth and last Earl of Orford (10 July 1854 – New Zealand 27 September 1931). He married two times. His second marriage was on 15 September 1917 with Emily Gladys Oakes (then styled as Countess of Orford), daughter of Rev. Thomas Henry Royal Oakes, and the mother of Anne.
One of the Walpole family members had been recorded at the siege of Acre in 1191. Later generations remained an established part of the British political, cultural and literary world.
Some famous ancestors were:
The title passed through the generations, Anne's father becoming the last Earl in 1894. He was aged 67 when she was born. He had no son, and decided to make over the family estate of Wolterton Hall
(North Norfolk) of 4000 acres (16.2 km²) to a distant male cousin in 1928. He emigrated to Manurewa
, New Zealand, in 1928, and died in 1931.
In 1923 he had bought a 16 hectare (0.16 km²) property called Rosemoor in North Devon
as a fishing lodge.
Anne and her mother lived there after 1928, interspersed with three visits to NZ in the 1930s. Thus Anne spent part of her youth in New Zealand.
The free life in New Zealand suited her. Anne didn't go to school and had a governess, but she used to dodge her, going hunting.
Back in England as a debutante proved to be a restricting time with al the social niceties including being present at Court. Her mother created some of the earliest garden features at Rosemoor, such as the Stone Garden, which still lies at the heart of Lady Anne's Garden.
25 November 1939 Anne married Colonel Eric Palmer. Her early married life was spent “camp following” the regiment, including two and a half years in Northern Ireland
.
Rosemoor was lent to the Red Cross as a rest home for Londoners from the East End suffering the effects of the Blitz. 6 March 1943 her first son John Robert was born. Anthony Eric Fletcher was born 4 November 1945.
After the war her husband bought more land around Rosemoor and established a dairy farm. Anne's passion was horses in those days.
“Lady Anne's initiation into gardening was somewhat akin to the conversion of St. Paul
.”.
In 1959 Anne stayed in Algeciras
, Spain
, for two weeks to recuperate from measles
. There she met Collingwood Ingram
, a well-known English plantsman, who opened her eyes to the world of plants. Collingwood Ingram sent loads of plants to Rosemoor from his own garden in Benenden
, Kent
. This was the start of a marvellous collection. In 1960 serious development of the garden started.
Soon there were other mentors like Lionel Fortescue (The Garden House at Buckland Monachorum
), the Heathcoat-Amory
family of Knightshayes Court
and others.
She rapidly grew a knowledge on conditions plants needed. Travels to New Zealand and Australia
, Papua New Guinea
, Japan
, North America
and temperate South America
allowed her to see plants and plant combinations growing in their natural habitats, and gave her opportunities to collect material.
In the late 1960s she joined the Royal Horticultural Society
(RHS). Robin Herbert, who later became a president of RHS invited her to join Floral Committee 'B' which judged woody plants and new introductions. She was also a Founder Member of the National Council for the Preservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG).
In 1965 she joined the International Dendrology Society (IDS). In the 1970s she chaired the tours committee for nine years until about 1983. She then became chairperson of the Society for nearly 5 years.
In 1970 she visited New Zealand and went to see Eastwoodhill Arboretum
, Ngatapa, Gisborne. Its founder, William Douglas Cook
had died a few years before. “Despite its then run-down condition it was to me a very impressive collection, at that time managed single-handedly by Bill Crooks
”, she remembered.
In 1977 a group of members of the IDS visited New Zealand again. She then nominated Eastwoodhill for the first brass plaque presented by the IDS for tree collections of outstanding merit. She then visited Abbotsford Arboretum (now Hackfalls Arboretum), the creation of Bob Berry
for the first time.
In 1979 Anne started a small nursery at Rosemoor. By 1987 the catalogue expanded to over 1000 items.
She developed a collection of less common trees, and of Hollies (Ilex) and Dogwood (Cornus), later resulting in Rosemoor holding part of the UK NCCPG National Collection for these plants.
In 1980 her husband died. In 1988 Anne offered Rosemoor to the Royal Horticultural Society
(RHS): the house and the garden (8 acre (0.03237488 km²)), and the remaining 32 acre (0.12949952 km²) of the estate, that was farmland. By 1990 Rosemoor was opened as a “garden for all seasons”.
In 1990 Anne led a group of IDS members to Hackfalls Arboretum for the second time. She married Bob Berry later that same year. “The story of Bob and Anne Berry of Hackfalls is a classic one in terms of the bonds created by dendrology
”. The marriage took place in England, but they came to live at Tiniroto.
In July 2006 Bob and Anne Berry left Hackfalls Station to live in Gisborne (town).
It owes much to its beautiful situation, “nestled within encircling woodlands in the wooded valley of the River Torridge near Torrington in rural north Devon”.
The garden developed in a naturalistic style, with sweeping lawns and curving borders set out as the plantings expanded. There was no masterplan, but designer John Codrington who later became a life member of the RHS, provided drawings, in particular for the early development of warmer sheltered areas near the house, which were of great assistance.
In 1974 the garden first opened for the public. A highly successful small nursery was started in 1979. The garden was noted for rare and unusual plants, as was her nursery.
The garden did attract significant numbers of visitors already in the 1980s. Nowadays the number of visitor's are counted beyond 100,000. Significant changes in visitor facilities were made. Apart from that in the mid 1990s 37.5 hectare (0.375 km²) of woodland surrounding the site, mainly coniferous forest, was added to the garden, securing the land bordering the garden from unwanted change, providing opportunities to blend the garden into its surrounding landschape and also providing it with a range of additional experiences for visitors.
“Lady Anne's garden was (and remains) a very personal garden, largely informal and relaxed in style, with extensive areas of parkland and arboretum
. The 'new' RHS developments were intended both to expand upon and to complement the existing garden, featuring diverse and wide-ranging plantings, many in a more formal framework, with particular emphasis on ornamental and productive horticulture.”
Rosemoor would become the first Regional Centre, “a sort of mini Wisley”. Wisley
is the “flagship garden of the RHS”.
The new garden areas at Rosemoor were designed to complement and contrast with Lady Anne's garden. Most important of these new areas is the so called Formal Garden. Another new development is the Fruit and Vegetable Garden.
For the next 10 years from 2008 onward a growth from 130,000 to 175,000 visitors is foreseen.
s (Quercus), which would later form the most important part of the collection of Hackfalls Arboretum. In later years other trips to Mexico followed to collect acorns.
When Anne came to live at Hackfalls Station in 1990 the management of the farm had already been taken over by Diane and Kevin Playle (Diane is a daughter of Bob Berry's sister Pet), the name being changed from Abbotsford Station to Hackfalls Station. Hackfalls Station had been the name of the original property of the Berry family at Tiniroto, when they first came to live there at the beginning of the 20th century.
The collection of the arboretum at 1990 contained about 3,000 taxa
. The number of different species of trees, shrubs and climbers has been enlarged since then.
Anne extended the homestead garden at Hackfalls and introduced many new plantings.
In 1993 the arboretum was protected by a covenant with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust
.
Since 2006 Diane Playle takes care of the arboretum and the homestead garden.
The collection at the arboretum in 2008 held 3,500 different taxa.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
horticulturist
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
who founded Rosemoor Garden
Rosemoor Garden
Rosemoor Garden is an internationally renowned collection of gardens in North Devon, England. The Lady Anne Palmer created the original garden of in 1959, and developed it over a 30 year period. The garden was first opened to the public in 1967, under the National Gardens Scheme...
. She offered the garden to the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
in 1988. In 1990 she married Bob Berry
Bob Berry (dendrologist)
Robert James Berry is a New Zealand dendrologist who founded Hackfalls Arboretum at his farm in Tiniroto, Gisborne. The arboretum is now known for having one of the largest collections of Mexican oaks in the world. During the 1950s and 1960s he was in regular contact with William Douglas Cook,...
and went to live on his farm at Tiniroto
Tiniroto
Tiniroto is a small farming and forestry community on the “inland” road from Gisborne to Wairoa in the eastern part of the North Island of New Zealand...
, Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. She then created the Homestead Garden of Hackfalls Arboretum
Hackfalls Arboretum
Hackfalls Arboretum is an arboretum in New Zealand. It was founded in the 1950s by Bob Berry. Hackfalls Arboretum is part of “Hackfalls Station”, a sheep and cattle farm of about 10 square kilometres, owned by the Berry family. Hackfalls is situated in Tiniroto, a tiny village in the eastern part...
.
Biography
Anne was born in 1919 to the Walpole family in England.Her father was Robert Horace Walpole, the fifth and last Earl of Orford (10 July 1854 – New Zealand 27 September 1931). He married two times. His second marriage was on 15 September 1917 with Emily Gladys Oakes (then styled as Countess of Orford), daughter of Rev. Thomas Henry Royal Oakes, and the mother of Anne.
One of the Walpole family members had been recorded at the siege of Acre in 1191. Later generations remained an established part of the British political, cultural and literary world.
Some famous ancestors were:
- Sir Robert WalpoleRobert WalpoleRobert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
(1676–1745), the first Earl of OrfordEarl of OrfordEarl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 in favour of the naval commander Edward Russell, who served three times as First Lord of the Admiralty. He was created Baron Shingay and Viscount Barfleur at the same time...
, who became Britain's first Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
in 1721. (He made significant plantings at Houghton HallHoughton HallHoughton Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. It was built for the de facto first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, and it is a key building in the history of Palladian architecture in England...
, NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. - Horace WalpoleHorace Walpole, 4th Earl of OrfordHoratio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He is now largely remembered for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London where he revived the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors,...
(1717–1797), the youngest son of Sir Robert, who became the fourth Earl of Orford in 1791. He also was a knowledgeable plantsman.
The title passed through the generations, Anne's father becoming the last Earl in 1894. He was aged 67 when she was born. He had no son, and decided to make over the family estate of Wolterton Hall
Wolterton Hall
Wolterton Hall is an Georgian country house in the English county of Norfolk.The Hall was built by Thomas Ripley in the 1720s for Horatio Walpole, politician, diplomat and younger brother of Britain's first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole...
(North Norfolk) of 4000 acres (16.2 km²) to a distant male cousin in 1928. He emigrated to Manurewa
Manurewa
Manurewa is the southernmost major suburb of Manukau City, one of the four cities that make up the metropolitan area of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 6km south of the Manukau City Centre, and 26km southeast of the Auckland CBD....
, New Zealand, in 1928, and died in 1931.
In 1923 he had bought a 16 hectare (0.16 km²) property called Rosemoor in North Devon
North Devon
North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth...
as a fishing lodge.
Anne and her mother lived there after 1928, interspersed with three visits to NZ in the 1930s. Thus Anne spent part of her youth in New Zealand.
The free life in New Zealand suited her. Anne didn't go to school and had a governess, but she used to dodge her, going hunting.
Back in England as a debutante proved to be a restricting time with al the social niceties including being present at Court. Her mother created some of the earliest garden features at Rosemoor, such as the Stone Garden, which still lies at the heart of Lady Anne's Garden.
25 November 1939 Anne married Colonel Eric Palmer. Her early married life was spent “camp following” the regiment, including two and a half years in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Rosemoor was lent to the Red Cross as a rest home for Londoners from the East End suffering the effects of the Blitz. 6 March 1943 her first son John Robert was born. Anthony Eric Fletcher was born 4 November 1945.
After the war her husband bought more land around Rosemoor and established a dairy farm. Anne's passion was horses in those days.
“Lady Anne's initiation into gardening was somewhat akin to the conversion of St. Paul
Conversion of Paul
The Conversion of Paul the Apostle, as depicted in the Christian Bible, refers to an event reported to have taken place in the life of Paul of Tarsus which led him to cease persecuting early Christians and to himself become a follower of Jesus; it is normally dated by researchers to AD 33–36...
.”.
In 1959 Anne stayed in Algeciras
Algeciras
Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar . Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container,...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, for two weeks to recuperate from measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
. There she met Collingwood Ingram
Collingwood Ingram
Collingwood Ingram , ornithologist, plant collector and gardener, was an authority on Japanese flowering cherries and is still widely known as ‘Cherry’ Ingram.-Personal life:...
, a well-known English plantsman, who opened her eyes to the world of plants. Collingwood Ingram sent loads of plants to Rosemoor from his own garden in Benenden
Benenden
Benenden is a village and civil parish in the Tunbridge Wells District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald six miles to the west of Tenterden...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. This was the start of a marvellous collection. In 1960 serious development of the garden started.
Soon there were other mentors like Lionel Fortescue (The Garden House at Buckland Monachorum
Buckland Monachorum
Buckland Monachorum is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of Devon, England, situated on the River Tavy, about 10 miles north of Plymouth.In 2006 the neighbourhood had an estimated 1,511 residents and 654 dwellings....
), the Heathcoat-Amory
Heathcoat-Amory Baronets
The Heathcoat-Amory Baronetcy, of Knightshayes Court in Tiverton in the County of Devon, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 21 March 1874 for the businessman and Liberal politician John Heathcoat-Amory. Born John Amory, he was the maternal grandson of John...
family of Knightshayes Court
Knightshayes Court
Knightshayes Court is a Victorian country house in Tiverton, Devon, England, designed by William Burges for the Heathcoat-Amory family. Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as "an eloquent expression of High Victorian ideals in a country house of moderate size." The house is Grade I listed as of 12 May...
and others.
She rapidly grew a knowledge on conditions plants needed. Travels to New Zealand and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and temperate South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
allowed her to see plants and plant combinations growing in their natural habitats, and gave her opportunities to collect material.
In the late 1960s she joined the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
(RHS). Robin Herbert, who later became a president of RHS invited her to join Floral Committee 'B' which judged woody plants and new introductions. She was also a Founder Member of the National Council for the Preservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG).
In 1965 she joined the International Dendrology Society (IDS). In the 1970s she chaired the tours committee for nine years until about 1983. She then became chairperson of the Society for nearly 5 years.
In 1970 she visited New Zealand and went to see Eastwoodhill Arboretum
Eastwoodhill Arboretum
Eastwoodhill is the national arboretum of New Zealand. It covers and is located 35 km northwest of Gisborne, in the hill country of Ngatapa. It was founded in 1910 by William Douglas Cook...
, Ngatapa, Gisborne. Its founder, William Douglas Cook
William Douglas Cook
William Douglas Cook was the founder of Eastwoodhill Arboretum, now the national arboretum of New Zealand, and one of the founders of Pukeiti, a rhododendron garden, close to New Plymouth...
had died a few years before. “Despite its then run-down condition it was to me a very impressive collection, at that time managed single-handedly by Bill Crooks
Bill Crooks
William Crooks , known as Bill Crooks was manager of Eastwoodhill Arboretum, Ngatapa, Gisborne, from 1967-1974...
”, she remembered.
In 1977 a group of members of the IDS visited New Zealand again. She then nominated Eastwoodhill for the first brass plaque presented by the IDS for tree collections of outstanding merit. She then visited Abbotsford Arboretum (now Hackfalls Arboretum), the creation of Bob Berry
Bob Berry (dendrologist)
Robert James Berry is a New Zealand dendrologist who founded Hackfalls Arboretum at his farm in Tiniroto, Gisborne. The arboretum is now known for having one of the largest collections of Mexican oaks in the world. During the 1950s and 1960s he was in regular contact with William Douglas Cook,...
for the first time.
In 1979 Anne started a small nursery at Rosemoor. By 1987 the catalogue expanded to over 1000 items.
She developed a collection of less common trees, and of Hollies (Ilex) and Dogwood (Cornus), later resulting in Rosemoor holding part of the UK NCCPG National Collection for these plants.
In 1980 her husband died. In 1988 Anne offered Rosemoor to the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
(RHS): the house and the garden (8 acre (0.03237488 km²)), and the remaining 32 acre (0.12949952 km²) of the estate, that was farmland. By 1990 Rosemoor was opened as a “garden for all seasons”.
In 1990 Anne led a group of IDS members to Hackfalls Arboretum for the second time. She married Bob Berry later that same year. “The story of Bob and Anne Berry of Hackfalls is a classic one in terms of the bonds created by dendrology
Dendrology
Dendrology or xylology is the science and study of wooded plants . There is no sharp boundary between plant taxonomy and dendrology. However, woody plants not only belong to many different plant families, but these families may be made up of both woody and non-woody members. Some families include...
”. The marriage took place in England, but they came to live at Tiniroto.
In July 2006 Bob and Anne Berry left Hackfalls Station to live in Gisborne (town).
Rosemoor Garden
Rosemoor Garden was created by the Lady Anne over a period of some thirty years prior to the RHS coming on site, from about 1960 to 1988. “Tucked into the north-east corner of the estate, it remains very much a plantswoman's garden, dominated by surrounding woodlands, with a number of discrete areas where choice subjects take full advantage of the warmth and shelter offered by the south-westerly aspect and high ground to the north”.It owes much to its beautiful situation, “nestled within encircling woodlands in the wooded valley of the River Torridge near Torrington in rural north Devon”.
The garden developed in a naturalistic style, with sweeping lawns and curving borders set out as the plantings expanded. There was no masterplan, but designer John Codrington who later became a life member of the RHS, provided drawings, in particular for the early development of warmer sheltered areas near the house, which were of great assistance.
In 1974 the garden first opened for the public. A highly successful small nursery was started in 1979. The garden was noted for rare and unusual plants, as was her nursery.
The garden did attract significant numbers of visitors already in the 1980s. Nowadays the number of visitor's are counted beyond 100,000. Significant changes in visitor facilities were made. Apart from that in the mid 1990s 37.5 hectare (0.375 km²) of woodland surrounding the site, mainly coniferous forest, was added to the garden, securing the land bordering the garden from unwanted change, providing opportunities to blend the garden into its surrounding landschape and also providing it with a range of additional experiences for visitors.
“Lady Anne's garden was (and remains) a very personal garden, largely informal and relaxed in style, with extensive areas of parkland and arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
. The 'new' RHS developments were intended both to expand upon and to complement the existing garden, featuring diverse and wide-ranging plantings, many in a more formal framework, with particular emphasis on ornamental and productive horticulture.”
Rosemoor would become the first Regional Centre, “a sort of mini Wisley”. Wisley
RHS Garden, Wisley
The Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Wisley in the English county of Surrey south of London, is one four public gardens run by the Society, the others being Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall and Rosemoor...
is the “flagship garden of the RHS”.
The new garden areas at Rosemoor were designed to complement and contrast with Lady Anne's garden. Most important of these new areas is the so called Formal Garden. Another new development is the Fruit and Vegetable Garden.
For the next 10 years from 2008 onward a growth from 130,000 to 175,000 visitors is foreseen.
Hackfalls Arboretum
Hackfalls Arboretum, Tiniroto, Gisborne, New Zealand, was the creation of Bob Berry, who started planting trees at his station in the 1950s, and created interesting collections of poplars, maples, oaks etc. Bob became a member of the IDS in 1977 and in October 1982 joined a tour to Mexico, which was the beginning of a particular interest in Central American OakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s (Quercus), which would later form the most important part of the collection of Hackfalls Arboretum. In later years other trips to Mexico followed to collect acorns.
When Anne came to live at Hackfalls Station in 1990 the management of the farm had already been taken over by Diane and Kevin Playle (Diane is a daughter of Bob Berry's sister Pet), the name being changed from Abbotsford Station to Hackfalls Station. Hackfalls Station had been the name of the original property of the Berry family at Tiniroto, when they first came to live there at the beginning of the 20th century.
The collection of the arboretum at 1990 contained about 3,000 taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
. The number of different species of trees, shrubs and climbers has been enlarged since then.
Anne extended the homestead garden at Hackfalls and introduced many new plantings.
In 1993 the arboretum was protected by a covenant with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust
Queen Elizabeth II National Trust
The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust is a statutory New Zealand organisation independent from Government and managed by a Board of Directors...
.
Since 2006 Diane Playle takes care of the arboretum and the homestead garden.
The collection at the arboretum in 2008 held 3,500 different taxa.
Awards and honors
- 1986 - RHS Victoria Medal of HonourVictoria Medal of HonourThe Victoria Medal of Honour is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society...
- 1990 - Honorary Doctorate of ScienceDoctor of ScienceDoctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
at the University of ExeterUniversity of ExeterThe University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities.... - 2002 - Hackfalls Arboretum received an IDS plaque.
Literature
- Bailes, Christopher – Rosemoor Garden – Two Decades On (A Retrospective...). In: The Gardener's Journal, Christchurch NZ, , issue 3, August 2008, p. 35 – 42.
- Christopher Bailes became curator of Rosemoor Garden in 1988. From 1996 to 2000 he was also responsible for the RHS garden at Hyde Hall in Essex.
- Berry, John - A Man's Tall Dream; The Story of Eastwoodhill. Publ. by Eastwoodhill Trust Board, Gisborne 1997. ISBN 0473045613
- Colborn, Nigel – Lady Anne Palmer, Creator of Rosemoor. In: Hortus, Farnham, Surrey, UK, ISSN 0950-1657, Vol. One, No. 4, Winter 1987, p. 70 - 80
- Wilkie, Martin – Bob and Lady Anne Berry, and Hackfalls Arboretum: a shared vision and a grand adventure. In: The Gardener's Journal, Christchurch NZ, , issue 1, February 2008, p. 13 – 22